Michelle-Lee Ahye will serve the remainder of her two-year suspension for “whereabouts failures”.

The Trinidad and Tobago Olympic Committee (TTOC) had filed an appeal against the ban, which was imposed by the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU), an independent arm of World Athletics. The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), however, threw out the appeal.

In his judgment, dated February 24, 2021, CAS sole arbitrator James Drake QC (Queen’s Counsel) ruled that the appeal filed by the TTOC against World Athletics “is dismissed in its entirety”.

In its submission, the TTOC, represented by trustee Dave Williams, an attorney-at-law, asserted: “That in the interest of fairness and the principles of natural justice the award issued to the Athlete should be struck out on the basis that it is harsh and oppressive and is inconsistent with established precedents dealing with similar issues for which the Athlete was charged”.

The TTOC also stated: “That there was the perception of bias in the manner in which the Disciplinary Tribunal dealt with the evidence and ultimately its decision against the athlete”.

Drake gave no credence to the notion. “As to the latter,” the QC wrote in his ruling, “there is nothing anywhere in the papers, not even a hint, of any bias of any sort on the part of the Disciplinary Tribunal. This ground is therefore dismissed as hopeless.”

In an Express interview, yesterday, Williams outlined the TTOC rationale for the appeal. “Although Michelle-Lee missed three tests, the tribunal indicated that she should not be blamed for the second missed test. Therefore, in our appeal, we said that since she was not at fault, that missed test should not have been considered. The CAS response was that it was raised too late; that it should have been raised at the first-instance hearing.”

Ahye was represented by American attorney Howard L. Jacobs when she appeared before the AIU disciplinary tribunal.

The appeal to CAS cost the TTOC 4,000 Swiss francs, the equivalent of TT$29,000. In addition to the Court Office fee of 1,000 Swiss francs, the TTOC was ordered to “make a contribution of CHF 3,000 (three thousand Swiss francs) to the legal costs and other expenses incurred by World Athletics in connection with these proceedings”.

In January, 2020, Ahye was handed the “whereabouts failures” suspension after she missed three out-of-competition drug tests within a 12-month period. The two-year ban started on the date of the last missed testÑApril 19, 2019Ñand will end on April 18, this year.

Postponement of the Tokyo Olympics by one year turned out to be a blessing in disguise for Ahye. Had the Games been held in July/August last year, as planned, Ahye would have missed out. But now, the Trinidad and Tobago sprint star has the opportunity to qualify for the Olympics following the completion of her sentence, next month.

Ahye’s “whereabouts failures” anti-doping violation cost her the 2019 Pan American Games women’s 100 metres silver medal.

Williams said the decision to go through with the appeal was justified in spite of the Olympic postponement. “One of the main reasons we proceeded was to try to save the Pan Am silver medal and the prize money Michelle-Lee would have won between April and August, 2019.”